The Curse of Autumn Olive

Autumn Olive is a deciduous shrub native to China, Japan and Korea that made its way to the United States in 1830 as an ornamental. In the 1970s it was promoted by our local conservation office as a way to provide wildlife habitat and plants were sold by the conservation office in "Rural Landscaping" packages.

Its cream to pale yellow fragrant flowers bloom in early spring and bring on an abundance of pink to red berries. Each Autumn Olive shrub can produce up to 200,000 seeds each year which are eaten by birds and scatter throughout pastures and along roadsides.



While one or two of these flowering shrubs would be welcomed, Autumn olive is an invasive species with a goal of total world domination.

Autumn Olive can quickly grow to 20 feet tall creating a dense shade that hinders the growth of plants that need lots of sun.



While the fragrant flowers of other spring time trees and shrubs would be welcomed, the pollen and smell from hundreds and thousands of Autumn Olive plants in our neighborhood can be sickening (much worse than being trapped in a small room with an over-user of perfume).